Pipe-expander.



No. 803,959. PATBNTED NOV. 7, 1905.

' S. E. ALLEN.

PIPE EXPANDER.

uruornox FILED ms. 13. 1905.

INVENTOH $61M &* W

B) E, M w, W ATTORNEY WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL E. ALLEN, OF DANSVILLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD VILLE,NEW YORK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

OF DANS PlPE-EXPANDER.

Patented Nov. '7, 1905.

Application filed February 13, 1905. Serial No. 246,4:2'7.

To all whom itJM/Cl/Z/ concern:

Be it known that I. SAMUEL E. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dansville, in the county of Livingston and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPipe-Expanders of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for expanding tubes; andthe object of my invention is to provide a device of this class by meansof which the operator will be enabled to expand any desired portion of atube of any length and diameter and to expand it at exactly the desiredpoint.

So far as known to me it has heretofore been customary in themanufacture of tubes to be used in superheaters to shrink the rings uponthe outside of the tube, first heating the ring to expand it to theproper diameter to permit of its being slipped in place upon the tube.The unequal expansion and cooling of the rings, associated with othervarious causes, result in some of the rings being loose or not properlyshrunk in place at the end of the operation, and this necessitates theremoval of all the rings or the replacing of the loose rings by splitrings fastened together by short screws.

By means of the invention herein described the rings can be secured uponthe tube while the latter is cold, and this method of securing the ringsin place has the advantage of economy in labor, saving of fuel, rapidityin operation, and a firmer, more exact, and more secure positioning ofthe ring in place.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the bestmode now known to me of applying that principle, Figure 1 is alongitudinal sectional view of my new pipeexpander, and Fig. 2 is adetail View hereinafter referred to.

The hollow cylindrical body portion a carries at its front end theexpander-head 1), within which are loosely mounted the swagingrolls 0and at its rear end a bearing-block 03. Extending longitudinally throughthe central portion .of the bearing-block d and the body portion a isthe expander-rod e, the front end of which is tapering and is therebyadapted to force out the swaging-rollsc when the expander-rod e isforced to the front. Fast upon the bearing-block d is a lug f, to whichis hinged the gage-arm g, the free end of which is bent downwardly toform an index and indented. (or notched) as shown. A conicalcentering-collar it is fitted loosely (or slidably) upon the bodyportion a.

As shown in Fig. 2, the body portion a may be provided with an index orscale by means of which the exact position of the swagingrolls in thetube to be expanded may be determined or the swaging-rolls broughtprecisely to the desired point in the tube. This scale may be used aloneor with the gagearm 9.

In using the device the conical centeringcollar It is fitted tightly inthe end of the tube 2' to be expanded, and thereby serves to center theexpander-head Z) in said tube. The indented free end of the gage-arm glies directly over that part of the tube beneath which the swaging-rolls0 are, as is clearly indicated in Fig. 2. By sliding the body portion athrough the centering-collar h the .free end of the gage-arm g isbrought to the precise position in which the ring j is to be securedupon the tube, and at this time the swagingrolls 0 will be directlyunder the portion of the tube d to be occupied by the ring on theoutside thereof, and so will be directly under the part of the tube 6 tobe expanded. The scale is may be resorted to in order to expedite andconfirm the accuracy of the positioning. The expander-rod e is nowadvanced, thereby forcing out or expanding the wall of the tube '11beneath the ring. The degree of expansion, and hence theamount ofinitial tension given the ring,is accurately controlled, and thiscontrollability it is impossible to obtain by the method of shrinkage.Every ring is secured firmly and uniformly in place with the advantagesoutlined above.

What I claim is- 1. In a pipe-expander, the combination of a bodyportion; an expander-head carried thereby; and a gage-arm which ishinged in fixed position to said body portion and extends lengthwisethereof, the index end of said gage-arm remaining. fixed in positionover said expander-head.

2. In a pipe-expander, the combination of a body portion, expandingdevices carried thereby comprising an expander-head and means foroperating the same; and a gagearm carried by said body portion andhaving its free end notched to engage a ring in posiand extendslengthwise thereof, the index end tlon over said expander-head. of saidgage-arm remaining in fixed position 3. In a pipe-expander, thecombination of over said expander-head.

a body portion upon which is marked off a SAMUEL E. ALLEN. 5 scalelengthwise thereof; an expander-head Witnesses:

carried thereby; and a gage-arm which is GEO. DU S. BAILEY,

hinged in fixed position to said body portion M. E. KIEBLE.

